“Haptics” is a tactile feedback technology that simulates the sense of touch by conveying forces, vibrations or other motions to a person. The stimulation caused by various forms of motions may be used to provide tactile feedback in response to an input command or system state. Computers or other portable electronic devices may incorporate haptic actuators that generate these forces or motions to provide sensory feedback or acknowledgement to the user in response to some action taken, or direction given, by that user to the portable electronic device. For example, an input command generated by the user, a device operating state, in response to software executing on the device, and so on may be acknowledged by haptic output.
One example of a haptic actuator provides mechanical motion in response to an electrical stimulus. Some haptic feedback mechanisms use electro-mechanical technologies, such as vibratory motors, in which a central mass is moved to create vibrations at a resonant frequency. Other haptic feedback mechanisms use force generating devices attached to a touchpad or touchscreen to generate movement which may be sensed by a user. The quality of the haptic feedback may depend upon various manufacturing tolerances between the haptic feedback mechanism and the touchscreen.